WAKES AND FUNERALS ARE A BIG PART OF THE IRISH CULTURE. IT’S AN AMAZING THING 

If you have a conversation with Joe Kenny, he smiles and maintains a cheerful lilt in his conversation when speaking about wakes and funerals. It’s something a bit unique in Irish Culture to smile about according to Joe. . Sure, there is sadness and grief to be worked through.That’s the whole purpose of why families get together; to comfort one another and celebrate a life well lived. Joe expounds on how his own family, his parents, his sister, himself, all observed and took part in this tradition. The Irish are a close knit and traditional family kind of culture with a very healthy dose of strong religious practices and faith. Joe often shares the thought, “when you believe what our faith tells us about living a good life, and then dying and going to heaven, the most blessed person at a wake is the one we’ve come to honor”. That’s a beautiful and comforting thought…at exactly the time grieving families find it most comfortable. Generations of his family thought and been taught the same gracious message. It’s certainly not exclusive to the faithful people from the Emerald Isle, but truly a gift of belief they share with every culture in the world. 

If you come to Gibbons, we’ll take good care of you and help to bring your loved one home! 

To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

Gibbons Family Funeral Home – Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls | March 2024

Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls. The Lives We Celebrated in March 2024.

Please go to our website obituaries or contact us for any information about Memorial Services for Loved Ones planned in the future. http://www.gffh.com

Gibbons Family Funeral Home – Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls | February 2024

Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls. The Lives We Celebrated in February 2024.

Please go to our website obituaries or contact us for any information about Memorial Services for Loved Ones planned in the future. http://www.gffh.com

Preplanning for Dad Required Some Flexibility from the Gibbons Family. No Problem

“My father had pre planned his funeral, and literally every detail was planned out,” according to Joe Kenny.  When he passed, some circumstances changed. My parents moved, so the plan was for the Gibbons to direct the funeral at a location close to where they now lived. A ‘hiccup’ occurred that made that option undoable. “The Gibbons pivoted, changed locations and handled every detail on short notice to accommodate my dad’s wishes and those of our family.”

It’s important that people know that preplanned arrangements will take into account that things can change. A little or a lot. Between the time of originally pre planning arrangements and the time of death, when those wishes need to be carried out. It’s possible you no longer live in the same vicinity where the preplanning took place. No worries. The resources, assets and desires are all transferrable to wherever the services may take place, even with another funeral home. The hedge on inflation of a preplanned, pre-financed service remains intact, regardless of the location of final disposition. This provides great relief for surviving family members, knowing all of the important choices were made by the most pertainent person; their loved one.. In Joe’s case, the Gibbons Family took care of everything from beginning to completion in honoring his dad’s wishes. 

He knew they would.  

For any questions you may have about At-need services or pre-planning, don’t hesitate to contact us. 773-777-3944 or www.gffh.com

 To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

LOGISTICS ARE A SPECIALTY OF THE GIBBONS FAMILY 

We have a lot of families who offer some slightly complicated challenges with their final services. Joe Kenny experienced the loss of loved ones, including his mom, on two consecutive days on 2 separate continents. That’s enough to fluster even the calmest of people with details and logistics, regulations and schedules and all manners of other overwhelming details. Add to that these personal losses occurred on Christmas Eve. 

Michael Gibbons of Gibbons Family Funeral Home answered the phone on Christmas to get the process started. He managed to arrange criss-crossing Atlantic flights to get each of the loved ones to their final resting places, while managing the visitation schedule for each loved one thousands of miles apart. Michael states it simply, “No one can ever know when a loved one may pass, or where for that matter” Adding, “A funeral home is a unique ministry that has no regular business hours attached to it. We need to be there for the families in our neighborhood no matter what day or time it might be. If it’s a little more complicated, so be it. We are accustomed to ironing out details and taking the stress away from families.Their gratefulness says it all, when everyone is where they need to be and the families can honor their lives” 

Joe Kenny agrees. 

For any questions you may have about At-need services or pre-planning, don’t hesitate to contact us. 773-777-3944 or www.gffh.com

 To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls. – October 2023

Please go to our website obituaries or contact us for any information about Memorial Services for Loved Ones planned in the future. http://gffh.com

Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls. – September 2023

Please go to our website obituaries or contact us for any information about Memorial Services for Loved Ones planned in the future. http://gffh.com

Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls. – August 2023

Remembering Our Faithfully Departed Souls.
The Lives We Celebrated in August 2023.

Please go to our website obituaries or contact us for any information about Memorial Services for Loved Ones planned in the future. http://gffh.com

WHEN YOUR LOVED ONE IS CALLED HOME, IT’S ONLY NATURAL TO COME TO GIBBONS FAMILY FUNERAL HOME 

It’s natural for people to “feel at home” at Gibbons Family Funeral Home. As Michael Gibbons, a third generation member of his family to own and operate the Funeral Home, states, “My father always wanted our building to feel like home, and it was our home. We lived upstairs, and the people who came here were our friends and neighbors. It was our honor to open our home to them.” 

Katie Sweeney agrees whole-heartedly, as she explains how her mother and generations of her family discussed the importance of choosing the place that not only ‘felt like home’, but was home to families and friends in the neighborhood and even beyond. She uses words and feelings like ‘comfort’ and ‘warmth’ to describe how, she, her mom, her grandma, her entire family felt about the Gibbons Family and their home. 

To be certain; this feeling of home is no accident at Gibbons.. It’s the result of strong effort, design and commitment from 3 Generations of the Gibbons Family serving even more generations of yours. So to Katie and so many other of our treasured families; It’s an honor. 

For Tom Gibbons, the most important thing you could do for a family grieving was to provide a space for them that ‘felt like home’. As a little boy growing up above the funeral home, it was natural for Michael Gibbons to think of the space this way because it was home to his family.

For any questions you may have about At-need services or pre-planning, don’t hesitate to contact us. 773-777-3944 or www.gffh.com

 To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHm0CEUcnYWO_05Fg

Technology Has a Place in Assisting Families

Sometimes age old traditions seem at odds with technology. When it comes to funeral arrangements and visitations, the Gibbons Family has added technology to make things a little easier for families who place their trust and confidence in us with their loved ones.

 

When you visit our chapel for a visitation, electronic screens with the image of your loved one will provide easy directions to the visitation chapel. Family and Friends may register using our electronic guest book. This guest book ensures the family has a full record of all of those who came to offer comfort; no issues reading hand-writing, or accidentally missing a guest on the page with incomplete information, etc. When the services are complete, families are provided with pre-addressed envelopes of all visitors along with cards for acknowledgement. We’ve heard many times that the most difficult phase for families is working through the process afterwards to thank people. The worries that someone will accidentally be missed creates anxious moments. The electronic guest book makes this process so much easier and the thank you notes can be sent very promptly.

 

Joe Wright, our vendor and developer of the software and a longtime friend of the Gibbons Family had an opportunity to see his work in practice when a member of his family had passed away. He was relieved to see his work solving precisely the kind of problems he designed it to solve. “Michael Gibbons is always open to anything that makes this process easier for the families, and that helps a lot” states Joe. He adds, “His concern throughout is that it’s easy and user-friendly”.

 

For additional information about Pre-planning, At need planning or any questions you may have, contact us, 24 hours a day at Gibbons Family Funeral Home 773-777-3944 or visit http://www.gffh.com

To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/
Twitter: @gibbonsffh
Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/
Website: http://www.gffh.com/

“You come home to us, we’ll take good care of you”.

Since 1935 there has been a Gibbons Family Presence in Chicago. Chicago was the welcoming port for so many of the Irish Families who came to America. When Grandpa Gibbons established the first location on the west side of Chicago, there was no doubt that the Gibbons Family would be comforting families for generations to come. The same feeling and pride for the city that was now home to generations of families and millions of immigrants is felt today at Gibbons Family Funeral Home.

Tom and Rita Gibbons were the second generation, raising their family for a time above the funeral home at 5917 W. Irving Park Road. Today Michael and Kerry Gibbons are the 3rd Generation of the family to welcome your family when you need our assistance. The family remains very active and connected to the families in the community, the parishes, the clubs and the neighborhoods. And when a neighbor passes away, the family comes together at Gibbons Family Funeral Home, where, as Rita promises, “we’ll take good care of you”.

For at-needpre-planning or any questions you may have, contact Gibbons Family Funeral Home at 773-777-3944 or gffh.com We’re here 24 hours a day, every day of the year for our families.

 

To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

What would mom really like?

Kathie Warta makes an important case about why Pre-planning might be helpful for families. As a daughter, she felt a tremendous obligation to do everything her mom may have wanted. She had wished her mom had made some very important choices of her own so she could be honored in the most appropriate way possible.

Gibbons Family Funeral Home makes this process available and as simple as possible for families. Getting everything down on paper is a huge help to loved ones who are tasked with making very important decisions, often during an emotionally difficult time. “Removing the doubt is a big help,” says Michael Gibbons, adding, “you can see and feel the relief of families when they have the direction their loved one created”. An option to pre-pay through a separate, independent financial instrument is available. This policy is transferable if locations or circumstances change. Financial Planning professionals have been adding this for several years now to act as an inflation hedge against rising costs.

Gibbons Family Funeral Home is here 24/7/365 to serve you for Pre-Planning, At-Need, or simply answer any questions you have, with no obligation.
For any questions you may have about At-need services or pre-planning, don’t hesitate to contact us. 773-777-3944 or http://www.gffh.com

 

To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHm0CEUcnYWO_05FgwNZiAw

Gibbons helped bring dad home from North Carolina to Chicago. The Chicago Fire Dept. provided a motorcade to Gibbons Family Funeral Home

Chicago Fire Dept. Lieutenant Leonard passed away in North Carolina while receiving treatment. It was necessary to bring him home to his real home; The Northwest side of Chicago. Michael Gibbons made the phone calls to coordinate with the funeral home in North Carolina to bring Lt. Leonard home, working with son, John Leonard here in Chicago. What John did not know was that upon arriving at the airport, Michael would bring the hearse directly onto the tarmac at the airport and be greeted by Fire Trucks with crossed ladders and dozens of Chicago Fire Fighters in Dress Uniforms standing at attention honoring the arrival of their brother Fire Fighter and Officer. With Lights on, the Fire Dept. provided a motorcade back to Gibbons Family Funeral Home on Irving Park Road. “It was something we didn’t know about, didn’t expect and really very cool”, recalls John Leonard, regarding his father’s arrival.”.

Michael knew. Because First Responders have a special place at Gibbons Family Funeral Home and always have. “We have a history and a tradition of taking care of the families of the men and women who serve our citizens in Chicago” says Michael Gibbons. Both the Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police Department consider their members to be family, and that tradition and camaraderie starts when a member passes away and extends through to the moment when they say good bye to a fallen brother or sister and send them home…not quietly, but triumphantly.

For the Gibbons Family, it is an honor and a privilege to be among the people who Chicago’s families choose for this responsibility. There’s no effort too great to take special care of the people who protect us every day.

 

To discuss at-need or pre-planning or any questions you may have, contact Gibbons Family Funeral Home at 773-777-3944 or gffh.com We’re here 24 hours a day, every day of the year for our families.

To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: @gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

Carrying Out Special Funeral Arrangements – First Responders

When a First Responder from the Northside is called home, they’re likely to go through Gibbons on the way.

Fr. John McNalis served as a Chaplin for the Chicago Fire Dept. If there is such a thing as “Irish-ness”, well, Fr. John is all of that and proud of the heritage of the service so many of his fellow Irishmen chose in public service. While attached to the Fire Service at the hip, the good-humored Chaplin extends his good feelings to Police, Public Works, and all manner of hard-working Chicagoans.

“There is a lot of ceremony involved with these kinds of visitations and funerals, and the Gibbons Family knows what to do and how to manage these arrangements”, says Fr. John. Chucking a little bit, but very seriously, he adds, “If you don’t do it right, word gets around, you know what I mean?” In addition to the religious rites, there are official rites and commendations, family recognition- that includes the men and women a loved one worked beside. Often the number of paying their respects can be very large, at the funeral home, at the church, at the cemetery, and perhaps elsewhere afterwards. The processions themselves can be a logistical plan worthy of days of study and preparation.

According to Fr. John, “The Gibbons Family is outstanding. Every generation of them. That’s the word that’s gotten around, so they take care of a lot of our members”. Michael Gibbons states clearly, “Our Family has always been extra proud of being able to serve so many First Responder and Veteran families here. They deserve every bit of the special treatment we can provide. It’s a honor to serve the people who’ve served”.

For any questions you may have about At-need services or pre-planning, don’t hesitate to contact us. 773-777-3944 or www.gffh.com

To Connect with Gibbons Family Funeral Home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gibbonsfamilyfuneralhome/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gibbonsffh

Blog: https://gibbonsffh.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.gffh.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHm0CEUcnYWO_05FgwNZiAw